Eight Stages Of Development In Sweet Home Alabama

Macy Rodgers
PSYC 2311 04
Final Essay
May 4, 2023
Sweet Home Alabama: Melanie
Erik Erikson was a psychoanalyst who studied psycho-social development. He came up with eight stages of development that he believed occur in a fixed order for every person. The stages each have their own crisis that the person must overcome to be successful in that stage of life. In the movie Sweet Home Alabama, the main character named Melanie is in the sixth stage of development, Intimacy vs Isolation. Throughout the movie, there are clues to her earlier life, and whether or not she succeeded in each stage leading up to where she is now.
The first stage of development is Trust vs Mistrust, and the key question is “Is my world safe”. This stage happens between

Similar to initiative vs guilt, this stage explores whether or not a person takes action, or if they roll with the punches and are inferior to their world. Melanie has a very industrialized way of thinking. This can be seen in one of the first scenes of the movie. Melanie is at her job and she says “You laugh now, but tomorrow it could be us”. She has faith that her company can make it big no matter what anyone else says or thinks. Another example of Melanie’s Industrialism is when she goes to see Jake and he locks her out. She says ““Hey genius make sure the next time you lock someone out remember they know where the spare key is hidden”. Something was standing in the way of her getting what she wanted, but she thought on her feet and did not let that stop her. Based on this, it is evident Melanie has succeeded at Industry vs Inferiority because she can take action, and she goes after what she

In this stage, the question being asked is “Who am I and what is my purpose?” This stage is the first stage that I do not believe Melanie fully succeeded in until the end of the movie. First off, even after she gets Jake to sign the divorce papers, she still stays in her hometown. When thinking about where she belongs, she says “This fits too”, she feels like she has a home in both places and does not know where to go. It is also revealed that Melanie had lied to people in New York about who she was. She was embarrassed by where she came from and felt the need to hide that to make it big, even from the man she planned to marry. All of these things signal that Melanie might not know who she is or where she belongs in life. It is not until the end of the movie when everyone finds out the truth about who she is, and she decides to get back together with Jake that Melanie is finally successful in this stage of life. One of the very last conversations seen between Melanie and Jake is him asking her “What do you want to marry me for?” and she replies “So I can kiss you anytime I want”. Melanie is sure about this decision, and she has realized that Alabama is where she belongs, and Jake is who she belongs